New Restaurant With Multiple Kitchens, Strang Hall, Opens in Downtown Overland Park

If you Google Strang Hall you’ll be brought to a page filled with pictures of professional meals. However, the restaurant itself resembles more of an upscale food court than the expected trendy cafe. 

Strang Hall, located at Metcalf and 80th, contains eight different kitchens lining the wall that seem to offer everything: chicken, coffee, Mexican, Asian, pizza, sandwiches, superfoods and even cocktails. The biggest factor that separates it from the average food court is the calm atmosphere, with its subtle instrumental music and clean, wood design. 

The first thing I noticed during my visit was how packed the space was. There were people sitting all over – working at tables, chatting with friends at the bar or simply reading a book in a booth. Despite the quiet environment, it was a little overwhelming at first to decide what I wanted to order. Each kitchen’s menu had at least 10-15 items to choose from, ranging from $5-18. I was forced to take several laps around the building just to gauge all my options. I eventually decided to play it safe and order a vanilla latte from Strang Coffee, instead of the other espresso or tea options. 

The biggest problem was the restaurant doesn’t work with cash — only cards. Since I only had cash, I had to exchange it for a “Strang Card”, a card you load up with any amount of money at the bar to use at whatever kitchen you want. 

Once I became the owner of a new “Strang Card,” I swiped it at the coffee station and picked up my $6 eight-ounce vanilla latte — which was nowhere near deserving of its price. I was already unimpressed by the presentation — a plain, black-and-white coffee cup. The latte itself was subpar. The espresso wasn’t very strong, the texture was weirdly creamy and the taste reminded me of watered-down hot chocolate. 

I wasn’t pleased with my coffee, but the smell of the restaurant’s food kept me optimistic. I chose to eat at Norcini, the kitchen specializing in pizzas and sandwiches. I ignored my instincts to order a plain old cheese pizza and went with the eight-inch Incendio — a pizza topped with mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, basil, chile flakes, garlic, evoo and salsa rossa. Within just 10 minutes of ordering I received a text notifying me that my lunch was ready. 

Judging the $12 pizza, I was pleased with the presentation — each slice was perfected with a sliced tomato and basil leaf. It was more misshapen than a normal round pizza, adding to the homemade feel of it. Along with that, the aroma of cheese and tomato goodness made my mouth water. I immediately noticed how oily the pizza was. Not in a greasy way, but more in a way that seemed like the chef had added an olive oil drizzle to it as a final touch.

It was at that point I realized I had no napkins and spotted a service bar set up in a corner. This station was stocked with utensils, cloth and paper napkins, soda dispensers and boxes to take meals to-go — in true cafeteria style.

After I’d gotten past the olive oil, I began noticing the other flavors of the pizza. No one flavor of the pizza was too overbearing — the sauce and cheese amounts were just right. The basil leaves and tomatoes added a nice flavor of refinement without tasting too much like a garden pizza. My only complaint was the chile flakes that seemed to be sprinkled right on the crust — my mouth was on fire. I boxed up my pizza and left my dishes for the workers to clean, just as the sign at the door instructed.  

The coffee may have been a bust, but my savory pizza made up for it. The restaurant is only seven minutes from East, and the quiet atmosphere provides the perfect place to grab a bite with friends. Some items may be more on the expensive side, but overall the prices are pretty reasonable — $8 for a pizza or $7 for a salad. There are countless options on the menu I haven’t even tried, so Strang Hall will be seeing me again, lapping around the building searching for more to indulge in.